I wrote about this issue back in September here, and today there is news that several states are considering laws to limit the use of credit reports in hiring.
Supporters of such laws say they are necessary because an increasing number of employers are doing credit checks even though there is no proof that bad credit [...]
More on background checks
The Pitfalls of Background Checks
I often warn clients to be careful about how they conduct background checks because of potential claims of race discrimination. Now comes a lawsuit illustrating that concern.
A class action filed in New York yesterday alleges that the management consulting firm Accenture discriminates against African Americans and Latinos in the way it conducts its background checks. In [...]
An employee’s e-mails to her lawyer are protected
A decision this week by New Jersey’s Supreme Court adds another layer to the ongoing debate over employee’s right to privacy within the workplace. The Court concluded that an employee, Marina Stengart, could reasonably expect that e-mail communication with her lawyer through her personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account would remain private, and that sending and [...]
Food-related updates
Quck updates this morning on a couple of previous posts, both involving food.
First, I wrote here about the EEOC’s effort to obtain documents from Schwan’s in a sexual discrimination case. As expected, Judge Janie Mayeron ruled in favor of the EEOC and has ordered the frozen food company to produce the information sought by the [...]
Employee Privacy Rights
This morning there are a couple of interesting privacy stories that serve as good reminders of best practices in this area. The first arises in connection with a union arbitration over discipline meted out to an employee of a municipal liquor store in Paynesville, Minnesota. As you know, these types of arbitrations usually depend largely [...]
Latest litigation tool: Facebook
Here is an interesting article from Law360 about how lawyers are using Facebook in a variety of different cases. Nothing earth-shatteringly new, but a good reminder for all involved about the implications of social media. In business litigation like non-compete cases, Linkedin may be an even better source of evidence.
Supreme Court to hear case on privacy rights of public employees
The Supreme Court will hear a case later this term which will help establish the contours of privacy in the workplace, although the focus will be on public employees, not private.
Sgt. Jeff Quon was a member of the Ontario, California police department. The department had a written policy reserving the right to monitor “network activity [...]
Ready for some privacy turducken?
The Supreme Court seems likely to accept a case involving background checks on employees who do contract work for the government, a legal hodgepodge which one judge has analogized to a turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck and a chicken).
The case was brought by a group of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion [...]
Employers: Take care with background checks
The EEOC has sued a nationwide convention company alleging a pattern or practice of unlawful discrimination because the company has rejected job applicants based on their credit history, or if they have had one or more of various types of criminal charges or convictions. The EEOC alleges that this practice has had an unlawful discriminatory [...]
Privacy 101
Two interesting stories on privacy issues this morning.
First, Acorn is having even more problems because a republican activist did a little dumpster diving behind its offices in San Diego and came out with a bunch of documents containing social security and driver’s license numbers of its members and job applicants. Ouch!
Second, Sen. Patrick Leahy is [...]
